4: Flowers For My Daughter
by rwparker
Summary: One of the great unanswered questions of the series: Whatever happened to Kagome's father? Inuyasha, Kagome and their daughter discover the answer to this question in a tale of noble and tragic sacrifice. Mama...why didn't you ever tell me?
1. Down the Well and Back Again

**Flowers for My Daughter**

Down the Well and Back Again

* * *

It had been a perfect autumn day: bracing, but not too cold, and the hillsides were carpeted in the rich warm russets and golds of the season. It had been a perfect day for a festival in Kaede's village, and indeed, it had been the perfect autumn festival. The villagers were cleaning up after the day's events, and Kaede was bidding a fond farewell to their guests of honor. 

"It was so very nice of you to come," Kaede said as she walked with them along the main road out of the village. "And it is especially nice to see _you_, Kagome, when you're dressed as befitting a person of your station—"and _not,_" she chuckled, "in the barbarous outfits of your own uncultured era." Kagome was dressed in a miko's finery in honor of the day, a flowing white kimono and vermillion hakama, her bow and arrows strung over her shoulder, and she smiled at Kaede's description of her usual clothing. For a long time, Kagome had felt quite uncomfortable in a miko's robes, because it was the clothing that Kikyo had worn—Kagome was especially uncomfortable when she was forced to wear the robes that had actually belonged to Kikyo, and the fact that they were absolutely the same size made it even worse. Kagome had gone through an extremely awkward period immediately after Kikyo had finally and truly died. She never told anyone--not her mother, not even Sango--but one day, she could actually feel the stolen portion of her soul, with which Urasue had reanimated Kikyo, returning to her body, and the rush of Kikyo's considerable spiritual powers joining with and redoubling her own. It made her feel like she didn't know who she was, or which of the souls within her body it was that Inuyasha truly loved.

That all changed forever with the birth of their daughter. When Kagome saw the tears of joy in Inuyasha's eyes and his rapturous smile when he held their child for the first time, and heard the love in his voice when he said "Kagome...she's beautiful," Kagome knew beyond any doubt that Inuyasha was hers, truly and forever; and the shackles of the past, which had held her heart captive for so many years, were gone for good.

Little Izayoi was contentedly munching on a sweet bun, happily holding onto her daddy's hand. She was wearing a red kimono like his, and she also had his long white hair and dog ears, which would perk up adorably when something caught her interest; but like her mother, her eyes were dark, such a dark brown that they were nearly black, and they were flecked with gold that sparkled when she smiled and sparked when she growled.

"It's always a pleasure, Kaede," Kagome smiled. "It's too bad that we can't stay, but tomorrow is a school day, and we need to get Izayoi back in time."

"Keh!" Izayoi crossed her arms, turned up her nose, and stomped her bare foot petulantly. "School is stinky. I don't want to go back. I want to stay here and hunt youkai with Kaede-obachan!"

"Now, Iza-chan," Kagome chided wearily. "We've been through this all before. It's a school day tomorrow, and we're going home, and that's that." She sighed heavily. "Honestly, Inuyasha, I just don't understand her. I loved school at her age. She must get this from you."

"Keh!" Inuyasha crossed his arms and turned up his nose. "Why is it that anytime she does something you don't like, it's because she got it from _me_?"

Kagome looked darkly at Inuyasha. "You _really_ don't want me to answer _that_, do you?" she said duskily.

Kaede laughed. "Patience, child," she said half-jokingly to Kagome, and she knelt down in front of Izayoi. "Now Iza-chan, you're a very special girl. I've told you that before—you believe me, don't you?" Izayoi nodded grudgingly. "Well, special little girls have special responsibilities, and one of yours is school. How do you expect to grow up to be as brave as your father or as clever as your mother if you don't go to school?"

Izayoi said nothing, but she looked at the ground and scuffed at it with her feet. "I tell you what," Kaede continued, "the next time you get a holiday, you come back here, we'll have some sweet buns, and then we'll go hunting youkai. Don't worry—they'll still be here when you come back." She stood up, muttering under her breath, "There does appear to be an inexhaustible supply of them." Kaede put her hands lovingly on the little girl's shoulders, and said "Is that all right?"

"O-kay," Izayoi said reluctantly, kicking at the ground again.

"That's my girl." Kaede smiled as she patted Izayoi on the head. "Run along with your parents now, and I'll see you soon!" She turned to Kagome, placed her aged hand in Kagome's young one, and said quietly, "You know that I'm not going to be around forever. Please bring her back soon. And you know, you can do a lot worse than to raise her here. It's safer here than in your era, from what Inuyasha tells me, and the people here all love you. You could do a lot of good here...and they will need someone to take my place when the time comes."

"I'll think about it," said Kagome. "But I will bring her back soon, as soon as I can, I promise." Kagome knelt down and Izayoi climbed onto her back, then Kagome climbed onto Inuyasha's back. Kagome smiled and called to Kaede, "Thank you again, Kaede, for everything! OK, Inuyasha, let's go home!" Inuyasha bounded off into the forest, and the three of them quickly disappeared from Kaede's sight.

Soon they arrived at the bone-eater's well, and they jumped in to begin the journey back home. Kagome was lost in thought as they glided through the time stream, making a mother's usual mental to-do lists: get Izayoi bathed (usually a battle), make sure that tomorrow's school clothes were laid out, find the notebook she keeps misplacing. She was completely shocked when she felt a hard "slam," like an airplane running into turbulence. Something changed in the flow of the time stream, and she felt herself being sucked sideways, down a completely new path. She reached for her daughter, fearing that they might be separated and each might be lost in a different era; but Inuyasha was faster. He had already grabbed the little girl's ankle with one hand, and with the other Kagome's wrist, and his look of grim determination to hold on, no matter what happened, raised her spirits considerably.

After alternately being buffeted harshly about and pulled rapidly in new and uncomfortable directions, they came to an abrupt halt at the bottom of the well. Kagome looked up, and saw the roof of the building on her family's temple grounds. "Thank goodness we made it home," she said. "Is everyone all right?"

They all nodded, but Inuyasha looked unconvinced. He sniffed the air suspiciously, then he growled, "The air smells wrong...and it feels wrong."

Izayoi sniffed and twitched her ears. "Daddy's right. The city sounds different, too."

"Well, we can't stay here forever," Kagome said. "We don't know who we'll meet out there, so cover up, you two, and let's get out of this well."

Inuyasha pulled a baseball cap from his sleeve and put it on, and from her own sleeve Izayoi pulled out a red kerchief and tied it over her head, covering her ears. Inuyasha climbed up the ladder, looked around, then said "It looks safe. Come on up." Izayoi climbed onto her mother's back, and Kagome climbed up to the top of the well, where Inuyasha helped them over the lip of the well.

They slid open the door of the well-house, and looked out onto the temple courtyard. It was a late autumn afternoon, and it appeared that here too there had been an autumn festival. There were a few people wandering about the courtyard, but clearly the bulk of the day's activities had already been concluded.

"It looks pretty normal..." said Inuyasha pensively.

"No it doesn't," said Kagome. "Just look at what they're wearing. It's all wrong."

"I can't tell the difference," said Inuyasha. "What you humans wear looks pretty much the same to me."

Kagome snorted. "Of _course_ you wouldn't notice...but I do. Everything is...well, it's old. I haven't seen this sort of thing since I was a child. Just look at their hair...look at the clothes they're wearing."

Inuyasha looked dubious, but he was willing to believe her. Just then, a darling little girl ran up to them. She was about Izayoi's age, and she had dark eyes, a thick head of long dark hair, and a beautiful smile. "Hello," she piped. "Are you here for the festival?"

Kagome made a choking noise; Inuyasha turned to see that she had turned as white as her kimono, and her eyes were wide. "Uh...uh huh," she said with difficulty, and nodded.

The little girl didn't notice Kagome's distress; her eye had been drawn to Inuyasha's and Izayoi's bright red kimonos. "Your kimonos are so pretty! Oh dear...everything's been put away by now..." she said thoughtfully; but then she leaned in close to Izayoi, and with a twinkle in her eye, she whispered conspiratorially, "but I know where they keep the leftovers!"

Izayoi turned to her mother; like all children her age, she seemed perpetually hungry. "Can I go with her, Mommy?" Kagome nodded, her expression unchanging, her wide eyes still fixed on the dark-haired girl.

Izayoi and the little girl ran off together, and Inuyasha whirled towards Kagome. "You let her go?" he said harshly. "I mean, she's just a human, but we don't know anything about her. There's something wrong here--we don't know that it's safe!"

"Yes, we do...it's safe," said Kagome distantly. She continued to stare at the retreating figures of the two girls, then she slowly turned to Inuyasha.

"That little girl...is _me_."


	2. Papa

**Flowers for My Daughter**

Papa

* * *

"She's...WHAT?" Inuyasha was completely taken aback. 

"She's _me,_ Inuyasha. I should know my own face." Kagome was finally coming back to the present; the color had returned to her face, and she was speaking normally again. "I don't remember this particular festival, or this particular day, but I do remember the way that temple festivals smelled when I was a girl, and the clothes that everyone is wearing belong to those years. It's _then._ That's _me._ It all makes sense." She grabbed her head with both hands and shook it. "No, no, no, it _doesn't_ make any sense...no sense at all."

Inuyasha had nothing to say to that, so he turned his gaze again to the temple courtyard. He saw the girls come around the corner of one of the back buildings, trying unsuccessfully to stifle their giggles, their purloined treats hidden from view (or so they thought), and they sat together under the Goshinboku and tucked in. Their mirthful chirping rang across the courtyard, and despite his wariness at the situation, he couldn't help but smile at the sweet sound of his daughter's laughter.

Suddenly, Inuyasha's ears twitched at the sound of the door to the family home being slid open. He turned to see a young man at the door: a slender and handsome man, with a gentle face, who was clearly looking for something or someone. After a few moments, he cupped his hands into a megaphone, and called out, "Kagome! Kagome!" Then, seeing the two girls under the Goshinboku, he headed in their direction.

Kagome's back stiffened. She stood bolt upright, and her face went ashen. She grabbed Inuyasha's sleeve with one hand, and clutched at her chest with the other. "...Papa...?" she gasped; then her eyes closed as she fainted, crumpling into Inuyasha's arms.

* * *

When she awoke, she was inside the family home, a cool cloth on her forehead, lying on the couch with her head in Inuyasha's lap. The young man that Inuyasha had seen at the door and that Kagome had called "Papa" was holding her hand, concern written all over his kindly face. "Are you alright?" he asked. "You gave us quite a scare. Are you ill?"

With Inuyasha's help, Kagome gingerly eased herself to a sitting position. "I...think I'm alright," she said cautiously. Papa offered her a glass of water, which she accepted and from which she sipped carefully. She looked around the room; it was exactly as she remembered it from her childhood, except that across the room, there sat her daughter and the child Kagome, their eyes very wide and fixed on her.

"I'm all right, honey," she said to her daughter, who visibly relaxed. Izayoi patted little Kagome's hand reassuringly.

"You must have had a difficult day," Papa said kindly.

"You don't know the half of it," Kagome said, holding her head in her hands.

"Well, then!" Papa said, trying to lighten the mood. "Now that we're all here, perhaps we should introduce ourselves. I am Yasuo Higurashi. A pleasure to meet you." He bowed, then looked towards Izayoi. "Now, who is this lovely little girl?"

Izayoi rose, and in her most polite voice, said "My name is Izayoi Higurashi. A pleasure to meet you." She bowed to Papa, and resumed her seat.

"Delightful! Very well done!" He clapped his hands and laughed. "How polite you are! Your mother must be very proud of you." Izayoi and her mother both blushed, and Inuyasha smiled (although he did grumble to himself, "Her father is proud of her too, y'know.") Papa continued, "Higurashi is a fine name indeed—it's not only our family's name, it's the name of the temple. I wonder if we're all related?"

"I'm sure we are," said Inuyasha, sniggering into his sleeve. Kagome elbowed him in the side, hoping that Papa wasn't watching too carefully. Inuyasha composed himself, then said, "I'm Inuyasha, and this is Kagome."

"Kagome—why, that's my daughter's name!" Papa laughed, and little Kagome rose and bowed just as Izayoi had. "I see you've already met Kagome. She just turned nine this month, you know." It was now little Kagome's turn to blush, even as she puffed up proudly at the mention of her recent birthday. Papa continued, "You look _so_ familiar. We _must_ be related—don't you think so?"

Kagome's mind raced to think of something to say. _Damn,_ she thought, _I should have paid more attention to family history._ Inuyasha started to say something, but she cut him off. "Why, yes...yes we are," she said, still formulating her story as she spoke. "Inuyasha is from overseas—he's the adopted son of your brother, Haru." Haru was the black sheep of the family, notorious both for his outrageous behavior and for staying out of touch for years at a time—Kagome had first met him long after she had begun to travel to the feudal era, so she thought his name would provide the safest cover.

"Haru's son from overseas...well, that certainly makes sense. Haru always was the traveler, always up to something odd. Oh dear," he interrupted himself, "how rude of me. Please forgive me—I certainly didn't mean anything by that. How is Haru doing?" Papa asked.

Inuyasha shrugged, and said, "I really wouldn't know." Kagome elbowed him again, and quickly added, "He means that we haven't heard from him in a long time either, have we, Inuyasha?" She glowered at him angrily, and he hastily shook his head.

"Well, cousins, welcome! Our home is yours." He heartily shook Inuyasha's hand, and did the same for Kagome. "Now, what can I do for you? Have you been here before?"

"No...no, we haven't," said Kagome hastily, before Inuyasha or Izayoi could say anything that would require too much explanation. "Could you give us a tour? I'd love to hear all about this place...and not the official tour. The _real_ stories. The _family_ stories—after all, we _are_ family, aren't we?" She laughed (she hoped) disarmingly.

"Right you are," said Papa. "Are you sure you're up for it? Are you well enough to walk?"

Kagome nodded vigorously. "Never felt better. Let's go!"

And so out they went, Papa in the lead, Kagome on Inuyasha's arm, and the two girls chattering merrily non-stop behind them. Papa gave them the cook's tour, showing them every nook and cranny of the temple grounds. Kagome already knew all the stories, of course, and had crawled over every square inch of the temple since she could crawl anywhere; but she was deliriously happy simply to hear her father's voice. As they walked around the grounds, she was beaming brightly, and from time to time Inuyasha would feel her grip tighten on his arm and tears of joy would leak quietly from her eyes ("Allergies...it's nothing, don't mind me," she had explained, early in the tour).

She was no less happy to see how Izayoi was enjoying herself with little Kagome; the two had clearly already become fast friends. "She's an...unusual child," Kagome told Papa. "It's not that other children aren't fond of her—not at all—but she's not really...well, she's not really _like_ the other children, and she doesn't have any friends her age who really understand her."

Papa nodded sagely. "It's hard to be unique, isn't it? It's a curse, as well as a blessing."

"Tell me about it," Inuyasha grunted, remembering his own difficult childhood.

The afternoon lengthened into evening, and Papa concluded the tour where they had begun, at the family home. Kagome thanked him profusely: "It meant more to me than I'll ever be able to tell you."

Papa brought them back inside, and they all sat down at the dining-room table. "I'd like to offer you dinner," he said, "but my wife isn't here. Mama's coming home tonight, but when she does, I'm afraid it will be long after dinner time. And, I'm sorry to say, I'm a very bad cook." (Little Kagome nudged Izayoi and scrunched up her face, as if to say "you don't know just _how_ bad." Both girls giggled.)

Kagome leapt to her feet. "Oh please, let _me_ cook! You've been so generous to us—let me thank you by making dinner!"

Papa chuckled. "Well, if that's what you want...I certainly won't say no." He leaned forward and whispered theatrically, "Frankly, even _I_ can't stand my cooking."

Triumphantly, Kagome shouted, "It's settled, then. Izayoi!"

The little girl jumped to attention. "Ready!"

"To the kitchen!" Kagome charged off to the kitchen with Izayoi in her wake, and there was an immediate clatter of pans. Little Kagome ran behind them, breathlessly begging to be allowed to help.

Seeing the flurry of activity in the kitchen, Papa laughed long and loud, and Inuyasha found that the sound of Papa's voice pleased him nearly as much as it did Kagome. Papa's laughter was honest and kind, and his words were gentle, and despite the mistrust that Inuyasha always immediately felt towards new acquaintances, he found that he liked Kagome's father very much.

Papa clapped Inuyasha on the shoulder. "Well, son, it's clearly for the best that we stay out of their way." He laughed merrily again."I see that you're wearing a sword," Papa said. "I can tell from the way you wear it that it's an old friend." Inuyasha cocked an eyebrow curiously at Papa, who continued "Oh, yes--I can see that you're a _real_ swordsman. By the way you carry your sword, and the way you hold yourself, I can see the strength of the warrior within you." Papa rubbed his hands together thoughtfully, and continued, "I've studied the bushido all my life. I did it all—judo, aikido, bow, staff, and of course the sword. I was quite the swordsman in my youth." Holding an imaginary blade before him, Papa rolled his wrists with a smooth and supple motion, as though he was drawing an elaborate figure in the air with the sword's tip: then he thrust forward with the speed of a striking snake, and Inuyasha blinked in surprise to see such a quiet man move with such graceful and deadly accuracy.

Papa laughed and shook his head. "Ah, but that was before the children—but of course, you know how the young ones cut into your practice time." Inuyasha knew no such thing, as Izayoi had been hunting youkai with him since she could walk, but he nodded politely just the same. "I was hoping that the children might like to take up one of the warrior's arts. Souta's a little too young yet, but I took Kagome out to the archery range one day and let her shoot." He looked to be sure that his daughter was out of earshot, and whispered, "She was just _terrible_."

Inuyasha snorted, and tried vainly to suppress his laughter. Hearing his snickering, Kagome stuck her head in the doorway and asked, "I thought I heard my name. Was someone just talking about me?"

"Why, no, dear, what makes you think that?" said Inuyasha, a look of total innocence on his face.

"No...'dear'? He's got to be up to something..." Kagome muttered to herself. She glowered threateningly at Inuyasha, and returned to the kitchen.

"The temple has a lot of old weapons," Papa continued. "Grandpa has a lot of stories about them and their 'noble heritage' and 'grand traditions,'" he said, mimicking Grandpa's orotund delivery, "but I'm not convinced that any of them are true. Most of them change every time he tells them. And frankly, I don't know where he finds these old things...sometimes I think he's just a sucker for a good sales pitch." He chuckled, then added, "Of course...I do have a few that are _really_ old, and really do have a noble heritage. I keep them in the temple, behind the altar. One of them belonged to my great-great-grandfather, and even he didn't know how old it really was. He called it 'Onikoroshi': the demon slayer. It doesn't look very impressive—it's just an old black halberd...but the family legend says that it has some sort of spiritual power, and that when it is used to save the life of another, it will always strike true." Papa leaned towards Inuyasha, and whispered, "But I'd never tell Grandpa that—I don't want to steal his thunder, and he'd never know what to do with a story that was really _true_." At that, they both burst out laughing.

Meanwhile in the kitchen, Kagome was furiously preparing what she hoped would be a feast fit for a king. The girls were busily peeling vegetables, and she was getting everything ready to make her signature omelets ("_Nobody_ can make omelets like I can...this is going to be a real treat for Papa!" she chuckled to herself.) She stuck her head out the kitchen door again to check up on Inuyasha. She saw that Papa was showing Inuyasha one of Grandpa's rusty old swords, and although she couldn't hear what he was saying, she could see him mimicking the overblown and grandiose gestures Grandpa always used when telling one of his long and dubious tales. And when Papa struck a fierce samurai pose with the sword and the blade fell off and clattered loudly on the floor, both he and Inuyasha howled with laughter.

"Oh, good, they're getting along," Kagome sighed with relief. Even after many years of bringing him to visit the modern era, she was always more than a little nervous about what Inuyasha might do or say. Inuyasha's self-control had improved significantly over the course of their relationship (she had seen to _that_, at least), but he was always impetuous, and would more often than not say the first thing that popped into his head, without foreseeing or caring about the consequences. She went back to her cooking, and soon was showing both girls the fine points of omelet crafting. She was so caught up in her lecture that she didn't see Papa point to Inuyasha's sword, Inuyasha look around the room at all the precious and breakable objects and then gesture to the door, and both of them walk outside.

Out of the corner of her eye, Kagome thought she might have seen the flash of Tessaiga's transformation through the kitchen window, but she was quite sure that she heard her father's whoop of glee. There was no mistaking Inuyasha's shout of "Kaze no kizu," though. She rushed to the window just in time to see the blinding flash of Tessaiga's mystical lightnings tearing through the chill evening air, and the house shook at the thunderclap as they soared upwards into the sky. She blinked at the flash, and when her vision cleared, she saw Inuyasha with Tessaiga over his shoulder, grinning broadly with unmistakable pride, and her father dancing beside him, shouting "Amazing! Absolutely amazing!"

"Oh no...what has he broken now?" Kagome muttered to herself as she returned to her cooking. Shortly Inuyasha and Papa returned, and Papa was simply beside himself with merriment.

"Oh, is Grandpa _ever_ going to be jealous! I've got a story that beats _all_ of his!" He was grinning from ear to ear at the thought. "And this _actually happened!_" He clapped and rubbed his hands together with eager anticipation. "I can't _wait_ to tell him!"

Kagome glared angrily at Inuyasha. "What's _your_ problem?" he growled at her. "I shot it up into the air. Nothing got hurt. What's the big deal?"

Kagome sighed heavily. "Just don't do it _again_, Inuyasha. We have to repair the temple enough during our own time—I don't want them to have to start doing that _now_."

Papa finally mastered his enthusiasm, and asked Inuyasha, "So tell me again...what makes your sword grow so large?"

Inuyasha said matter-of-factly, "It's one of my father's fangs."

Papa shook his head in awe. "Now..._that's_ got to be a _real_ story. You must mean your birth father, of course," he chuckled again. "Haru had many odd traits, but seven-foot fangs were not among them." He scratched his chin, and said thoughfully, "Although even Haru would have written us about something this unusual. Does Haru know about this?"

With a completely deadpan expression, Inuyasha said calmly, "Probably not."

There was a loud clatter in the kitchen, and all eyes turned to Kagome, who had dropped a pan and was busily mopping the floor where it had fallen. She smiled innocently enough, but her eyes looked daggers at Inuyasha. She got to her feet and said sweetly, "Dinner's ready!" Papa walked past her and sat down at table, but before Inuyasha could join him, Kagome grabbed him by the sleeve and hissed in his ear, "You're _enjoying_ this, aren't you?"

"Yup," said Inuyasha, with a straight face.


	3. Dinner, a Bath, and Bedtime

**Flowers for My Daughter**

Dinner, a Bath, and Bedtime

* * *

Kagome's dinner was a resounding success. Papa and little Kagome cleaned their plates and asked enthusiastically for seconds, and everyone had a wonderful time laughing and joking with each other. In due course, the dishes were cleared and washed, and the adults sat at the table over a pot of tea while Izayoi and little Kagome chatted in the corner. Izayoi was showing little Kagome how to press leaves and flowers in books, and from time to time little Kagome, particularly proud of how one of them turned out, would walk over to her father, tug at his sleeve, and show him her handiwork. 

Papa was talking about the rest of the family. "My wife, Grandpa, and my son are off visiting relatives. Grandpa and Souta are coming back tomorrow, but I need to pick up my wife later this evening." He leaned back from the table, one hand behind his head, an embarrassed look on his face. "I...I'm afraid I need to ask you a favor. When I leave to pick up my wife, could I ask you to watch Kagome for me? I'd take her with me, but she usually takes a bath tonight," and he leaned forward and whispered with one-parent-to-another confidentiality, "and she _does not like_ missing her bath, and I'll never hear the end of it if she does." He straightened up and resumed in a normal conversational tone, "So...would you be willing to watch my daughter while I go pick up my wife?"

"Of _course_ we'll be happy to help any way we can," Kagome chirped happily. "Frankly, Izayoi could use a bath tonight too."

Izayoi's ears twitched visibly under her kerchief. "A bath? Keh!" she announced from across the room. "I _hate_ baths."

Little Kagome jumped up joyfully, "No, Iza-chan, baths are fun! Let's go take one together!" She grabbed Izayoi's hand and headed for the bathroom. Izayoi grudgingly allowed herself to be led away, and her gloomy and resigned expression caused all the adults to laugh.

Papa clapped his hands with joy again. "My Kagome...she _does_ love her baths!"

"So does mine," laughed Inuyasha.

Kagome blushed and hid her head in her hands. "Wait 'til I get you alone," she muttered into the sleeve of her kimono.

* * *

To Kagome's great relief, the bath was as big a success as the dinner. Izayoi suffered little Kagome to scrub her back with far fewer protests than she offered when her mother tried to do the same, and much more quickly than Kagome expected, the two girls were happily soaking in the tub, chatting and giggling. While the girls were enjoying their bath, Kagome sat quietly in the corner and did her best to appear absorbed in her magazine so she wouldn't get caught listening to them.

Izayoi sighed contentedly and slid under the water until her nose was just under the surface, and happily blew some bubbles. Forgetting that she was among strangers, she untied her kerchief and shook her head, wiggling her ears with relief. She settled back into the bath, only to look up and see little Kagome staring at her.

Izayoi slumped dejectedly. "Oh...my ears." She was utterly crestfallen. "You probably don't like me any more. You think I'm weird now."

"No, no, no, Iza-chan!" little Kagome piped. "They're so cute! I wish I had ears like that. Do you think I can pull mine up until they're like yours?" She tugged at her own ears for a few moments, trying to get them to stick up through her hair like Izayoi's. The sight was pretty comical; and Izayoi laughed, which started little Kagome laughing, and soon they were giggling and splashing happily again, the moment's awkwardness quickly forgotten. Mother Kagome smiled too, heaving a quiet sigh of relief that another bath-time battle had been won, and returned to her magazine.

* * *

With unusual difficulty, Kagome talked her daughter out of the bath (normally, it was a struggle to keep her in for more than a few minutes) and took her downstairs to brush her hair while little Kagome finished getting ready for bed. Izayoi was babbling happily about her day's adventures with her new friend, when Inuyasha walked in with a dark and concerned expression.

"I've been all over the grounds," he said. "I can't find anything unusual, but still...something just feels wrong."

Izayoi suddenly sat upright, her ears twitching nervously. She bared her little fangs and growled, "Jyaki."

Kagome put down the hairbrush. "I feel it too," she said. Inuyasha twitched his ears, and expectantly sniffed the air.

Suddenly, there was a shriek from upstairs, and little Kagome came running down the stairs. "There's a monster in my room!" she screamed. "There's a monster in my room!"

Inuyasha reached for Tessaiga, but Kagome put a restraining hand on his arm. "Don't bring out that huge sword right now...she's scared enough already."

Little Kagome came around the corner in tears, pointing to the stairs. "There's a horrible, horrible monster in my room! It tried to eat me!" She looked around the room in a panic. "Where's my papa? Where's my mama?"

Kagome knelt before the little girl ("I can't _believe_ I'm comforting myself," she thought) and put on her cheeriest face. "Your mama and papa aren't here right now, but don't worry. Monsters in your room? We'll take care of that!"

Izayoi hugged little Kagome, and did her best to be comforting. "My mommy and daddy are really good at this. They'll get rid of that monster right away--you'll see!"

Inuyasha and Kagome left little Kagome in the care of Izayoi, and crept slowly up the stairs. Inuyasha ripped the cap off his head and petulantly stuffed it back into his sleeve. "Keh. I can't hear _anything_ with this thing on." He sniffed at the air. "There's definitely something in there," he whispered.

"I could have told you _that_," Kagome whispered back. "I was never scared of the dark. I never saw monsters in the closet, or any of that sort of thing. If I...I mean, if _she,_ said that there was something there, I knew that it had to be true." She grabbed the sleeve of his kimono. "Inuyasha, do what you have to...but can you _please_ try not to destroy my house in the process of saving us all?"

"Fine. Why don't _you_ take care of it, then," he whispered irritatedly. He padded softly up the stairs ahead of Kagome, who nocked an arrow and drew her bow, aiming directly at the door to the child's room.

Inuyasha pressed his back to the wall next to the door, stealthily reached for the knob, then flung the door open. A thick grey-green tentacle shot through the open door, reaching for whoever would have been standing on the threshold. Inuyasha saw Kagome's eyes flash angrily. She loosed her arrow, which flew through the door and destroyed whatever had been inside in a shower of glimmering violet sparks.

The two of them rushed into the room; there was only an ugly stain on the floor, and a breeze blowing through the open window.

"Well, that's how it got in, but I still don't know what it was," Kagome mused. Inuyasha said nothing; his face was ashen, and he was grinding his teeth so hard that she could hear it from across the room. "Inuyasha, what's wrong?" Kagome asked.

"That smell...I'll never forget that smell as long as I live." He balled his fists, and his knuckles popped with the force with which he clenched them.

"No...No!" Kagome shook her head vehemently. "It can't be. It _can't_ be."

"It is," said Inuyasha grimly. "It can't be anyone else." His eyes narrowed to angry slits, and he growled with utter hatred.

"Naraku."


	4. The Temple

**Flowers for My Daughter**

The Temple

* * *

Inuyasha and Kagome rushed down the stairs to where the girls waited for them. "Well, we took care of the monster--it's all gone and it won't bother you any more!" Kagome said with what she hoped was convincing sunniness. She turned to Inuyasha and said much more quietly, "We've got to deal with this, but what should we do with the children?"

"They'll have to come with us," Inuyasha said. "It'll be dangerous, but leaving them here unprotected would be more dangerous."

Kagome nodded. She turned back to the girls, smiled and clapped her hands. She put on her cheeriest voice: "Well, let's go on a monster hunt--we wouldn't want another one to surprise you tonight, and the best way to get rid of them is to be brave and show them who's boss! Get your jacket, Kagome--it's going to be fun!"

Izayoi immediately jumped up and grabbed little Kagome's hand with excitement. "C'mon, Kagome--we're going to exterminate some youkai!" Little Kagome looked about as excited as Izayoi did on her way up to the bath, but she was willing to trust her friend, so she grabbed her jacket and joined them in the courtyard.

Inuyasha and Izayoi took the point, using their sensitive ears and noses, while Kagome stayed next to little Kagome, but even as she stood next to the child, she reached out with her miko's senses, seeking the source of the jyaki. Inuyasha found it first. He drew Tessaiga and gestured with it as he whispered hoarsely, "There. The temple."

They crossed the courtyard, creeping silently and slowly, and cautiously entered the open portals of the great temple. It was a tremendously old building, made almost entirely of wood, and it moaned and creaked softly in the cool night air. A sparse forest of tall rough-hewn posts rose out of the hardwood floor, supporting mighty cedar beams that spanned the open space of the temple and supported the thick blue-gray slate tiles of the roof, which were cleverly interlocked such that the tiles themselves created the support for their upreaching arch. At the far end stood a raised platform that supported the altar, upon which could still be seen the remains of the day's ceremonial offerings. On either side of the platform, two enormous stone lanterns stood sentinel; and ringing its rear were ancient weapons: javelins, pikes, and halberds forged of some dark metal, from which embroidered banners were hung. It was too dark to see the patterns of the banners, but their silver and gold threads glistened dimly in the moonlight that streamed in through the great doors. Every sound echoed eerily, bouncing off the polished floor and rattling through the vast upwards curve of the roof.

Inuyasha and Kagome crept through the temple, looking for any sign of the demon. Inuyasha ground his teeth and growled softly. "It's here. I know it's here. I can feel it."

Suddenly an ugly tentacle erupted through the temple floor, sending an explosion of splinters in every direction. It wrapped itself around one of the tall support posts, and yanked viciously. The post snapped in half, and one of the ceiling beams to which it was attached came loose and fell, plummeting towards the two little girls.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome screamed. Inuyasha bounded towards the girls, but Izayoi was faster. She leapt into the air directly at the descending beam, and with a shout of "Sankontessou!" her little razor-sharp claws sliced like golden lasers through the heavy wood, cutting it neatly in two and allowing it to fall harmlessly away from herself and her friend.

"Good girl!" shouted Kagome. But although Izayoi had stopped the beam, she couldn't block all the falling debris, and a large chunk of one of the slate roof tiles fell on little Kagome. She tried to shield herself with an upraised arm, but the tile was too heavy, and with a sharp cry of pain, she fell beneath it and didn't get up.

"Kagome!" Izayoi screamed. She dashed to her friend's side, lifted the stone, and hurled it away. In a moment she called to her mother, "She's alive--but I think she's hurt, Mommy, she's hurt bad."

Inuyasha arrived at her side seconds later, and examined the girl. "She'll live, but she's unconscious, and I think her arm's broken. Izayoi, stay with her." Izayoi nodded, kneeling next to little Kagome and stroking her friend's limp hand.

Inuyasha turned and shouted into the room, "Monster! What sort of coward tries to kill a little girl while he hides in the shadows? Show yourself!"

Through the hole in the floor came boiling a hideous foul-smelling ooze, which seemed to pour itself upwards into the temple from somewhere below. It congealed into a huge, slimy, slithering lump, which held no fixed form, but whose shape constantly churned and bubbled. Dozens of tentacles of different lengths sprouted from its surface, each dripping a malevolent ichor that smoked and sizzled as it dropped onto the temple's floor. In the center of the roiling mass a huge bubble formed, and the skin over it parted to reveal a single oily eye, which settled its gaze on Inuyasha. The creature's stench was nearly unbearable, and from somewhere within its core, a low, evil laugh belched forth.

Inuyasha drew the sleeve of his kimono across his face, trying to block the smell. "Naraku...?" he growled.

"Not Naraku, but of him," a low voice gurgled up from within the creature. "From his body he made me, and for his pleasure and in his service I live. For years I clawed at the banks of the stream of time, digging little by little to create a chink, an eddy, a current to draw me here." ("So that's how we got here," Kagome thought.)

The creature laughed again; each time it did, bubbles popped all over its surface, releasing an oily foul-smelling vapor. "And so my master Naraku sent me here, to kill the young miko before she came into her own, and take the Shikon no Tama that even now lies hidden within her body. I had no idea that my master's most hated foe--you, hanyou--would await me as well. My master will be pleased when I bring him the Shikon no Tama in the mouth of your severed head."

Inuyasha raised his sword menacingly. "I still have my head, monster, and as soon as I can find yours with my sword, I'll cut it off." He was about to charge the creature when he was startled by a scream from behind him, at the temple's main door.

"Kagome! Kagome! What have you done to my daughter?"

It was Kagome's mother. She had just returned home, and hearing the ruckus in the temple, had gone to investigate. She rushed towards her fallen daughter, and the monster extended a tentacle in her direction to catch her; but Inuyasha deftly severed it with a single slash from Tessaiga, and the amputated tentacle struck the ground heavily and writhed hideously.

The monster roared angrily. It began hurling debris that had fallen from the temple roof at little Kagome and Izayoi, and whipped its other tentacles towards Inuyasha and Kagome.

With his sword in his right hand, Inuyasha slashed at the attacking tentacles, and with his left he grabbed Tessaiga's sheath from his waist, and skimmed it towards his daughter. "Izayoi! Protect Grandma and little Kagome!"

Izayoi deftly caught the sheath as she stood up, placing herself between the monster and little Kagome and her mother. She planted her feet firmly and raised the sheath before her with outstretched hands, and a glowing hemisphere of shimmering sapphire light formed around the three of them. The debris the monster threw at her bounced off the barrier harmlessly, and the tentacles that reached for her sparked and burned where they touched her shield.

Izayoi looked over her shoulder at Mama, who was cradling little Kagome and shivering in terror, trying to shield her child with her own body. "Don't worry, Grandma," Izayoi said, "I won't let anything happen to either of you." As she spoke, a large chunk of something heavy bounced off the barrier, which rang darkly and sparked violently. Izayoi bared her fangs and growled, and her eyes narrowed angrily, and Mama could feel the hairs on her arms standing on end as the air crackled with energy and the barrier stiffened.

"_Grandma_...?" she said softly, confused. "Who...who _are_ you people?"

Mama turned from Izayoi to the commotion in the temple, and the sight took her breath away. Inuyasha was a blur of white and red, his sword slashing at every horror that the creature extended at him. Kagome was moving almost too quickly to be seen, her hair and hakama flying as she whirled and spun, now loosing an arrow, which sparkled and exploded as it flew; now firing blasts of violet lightning from her bare hands; now deflecting the creature's attacks with her bow as though it were a quarter-staff; and at each foul touch of the beast's tentacles to her bow, there was a flash of electric fire and the smell of burning flesh.

Inuyasha shouted as he parried the beast's attacks, "Kagome, I'm sorry, but I can't fool around with this jerk any longer." A yellow vortex whirled around Tessaiga, and as Inuyasha shouted "Kaze no kizu!" he fired a tremendous blast at the creature.

Tessiga's mystic lightnings ripped along the temple's floor directly at the creature and struck it dead center; but the creature's body rippled and shimmered into semi-transparency, and the blast traveled through and blew out the back wall of the temple, leaving the beast completely unharmed.

"Huh? It didn't work?" Inuyasha was completely taken aback, so much so that he almost allowed one of the tentacles to reach him before he sliced it apart.

Kagome let fly a volley of three arrows in quick succession, directly at the creature's central bulk. Again, its body shimmered into transparency, and the arrows passed harmlessly through.

The creature belched forth its ugly laugh. "Your weapons are powerless against me. I can shift my body in time. When your attack comes, I have not yet arrived here and now at the temple." It guffawed cruelly, and its body shimmered again, taunting them. "Your weapons cannot touch me. I cannot be harmed."

The creature laughed again, but its laughter was cut off abruptly as part of its body bulged forward grotesquely; then, something blazing with a brilliant blue radiance erupted forth. It was Papa's ancient halberd, the Demon-slayer: it was dark dead metal no longer, but glowing brightly, lit from within by a miasma of living fire. Papa had crept stealthily behind the beast while it was gloating with Inuyasha and Kagome, and he had driven home the ancient weapon straight and true, piercing the creature's awful heart. The tip of the blade, still shedding blinding sparks of blue and violet lightning, was jutting forth from the front of the monster, just under its hideous eye.

The creature screamed with rage and pain, and its surface boiled and rippled obscenely. "Insect! Worm! How _dare_ you?" The beast's tentacles whipped around, grabbing Papa, and it hurled him the length of the temple, where he hit the wall with a sickening thud. He fell, and did not move.

"Papa!" Kagome screamed. She dropped her bow, and from her upraised right hand there exploded a purifying bolt of terrible power, crackling and searing the very air as it coursed towards the demon. The bolt struck the tip of the halberd protruding from the creature, and it flashed brilliantly as it danced down the blade and the shaft, flowing together with the halberd's own mystic force. There was a horrible sizzling sound, and smoke arose from the wound under the creature's eye, and the sickening smell of the beast cooking from within filled the room.

The beast vainly tried to shift itself to free itself from the halberd, but although it rippled and shimmered and grew transparent at the edges, its core remained solid. Kagome's bolt had charged the weapon with purifying energy, and the tentacles that reached to pull it out were burned to cinders at the moment they touched the weapon. Sensing the monster's weakness, Inuyasha fired another kaze no kizu straight at the creature's now-solid core. The blast raked ugly claw marks across the creature's surface, tearing great gouges in its flesh and scarring its eye.

The creature roared in rage and pain. Its tentacles whipped around one of the stone lanterns, and using it like a bat, the monster swatted Inuyasha brutally, sending him hurtling through the air and Tessaiga flying from his grasp. His body slammed into Kagome's, and the two of them tumbled together and slid across the floor. A wad of the creature's body flew out at the end of one of its tentacles, and it struck the two of them, gluing them where they landed.

"For that..." the creature growled furiously, "for that...the child will not die quickly or painlessly. I will slowly rend the flesh from her body, and relish the sweetness of her pain as I devour her...and I will boil your cub in her blood." The creature puffed and fumed for a few moments, emitting a thick brown smudge from its wounds, then it spoke again. "Your half-breed whelp cannot hold that barrier forever." It was true; the strain was showing in Izayoi's face, sweat was pouring down her furrowed brow, and the sparks that flew when the beast's tentacles probed the barrier were getting dimmer.

The monster laughed again, more cruelly this time. "I do not know which of you I will kill first, and to whom I will grant the exquisite pain of dying last. You, miko? Shall you see the man you love and your firstborn rent asunder before your eyes...or you, hanyou? Shall you see your woman and child die horribly, knowing that you were powerless to save them?"

Inuyasha and Kagome strained to free themselves, but to no avail. They looked desperately at one another, and each could read the questions in the other's eyes: is this, finally, where it ends, after all we've been through together? But then, a calm voice cut through the silence: "No one...is going to die...today."

It was Kagome's father; he was wounded, but he stood tall and proud. He had silently crossed the temple floor using Tessaiga (which had transformed back to its smaller, rusted state) as a crutch. Blood ran down his legs and onto the floor, and the red trail that lay behind him told the awful story of the pain that his progress had cost him.

"I do not have the power of these two...but as long as there is breath in my body, I will protect my family."

When Papa said "protect," Tessaiga pulsed. Inuyasha felt it immediately, and his golden eyes widened in amazement; then, they narrowed in concentration. "Tessaiga..." he said softly, whispering to the sword.

Papa stood tall with his feet planted firmly, and he bravely raised the sword in his right hand; Tessaiga pulsed again. Inuyasha suddenly shouted out in a great voice, "Tessaiga!" and the sword just as suddenly came to life--it transformed, a ring of living golden flame flashing along the blade.

Papa didn't notice; his eyes were fixed on the creature. He lifted the great sword over its head easily, as though it had no weight at all; and Inuyasha again called to the sword, shouting, "Tessaiga! Kongousouha!" The sword pulsed again; crystalline shimmers ran from hilt to tip, and a blue vortex formed along the blade.

With Tessaiga held high, Papa stared directly into the monster's evil eye, and shouted with all his remaining strength, "The only one who will die here today...is _you_!"

He grasped the hilt with both hands and whipped the sword down, menacingly directing its tip directly at the creature; and that was all the encouragement that Tessaiga needed. A shower of diamond spears flew from the blade, striking the creature squarely where the halberd had pierced him, precisely in the spot where the creature was unable to shift itself out of harm's way. With a fusillade of deep and resounding thuds, the glittering kongouseki imbedded themselves deep in the creature's horrible vitals, and the monster screamed incoherently in agony.

Distracted by pain, the beast loosened its grip on Kagome and Inuyasha. With golden fire pouring from his claws, Inuyasha ripped through the fleshy glue that held them prisoner, and he quickly freed himself and Kagome. They rushed to Papa's side; completely spent, Papa had crumpled to his knees, Tessaiga falling from his grip. Kagome caught and supported her father, easing him gently to the floor, and in one smooth motion, Inuyasha somersaulted over both of them and snatched the sword, landing directly in front of the creature. With a tremendous shout of "Bakuryuuha!" he fired a devastating blast directly at the monster, point blank.

The whirlwind of the Bakuryuuha tore into the creature, and its screams of pain redoubled. It furiously dug its tentacles into the floor, holding on desperately against the raging fury of Inuyasha's attack. But although Inuyasha's strike had clearly done a great deal of damage, the creature showed no signs of dying, and Inuyasha feared that the beast would somehow survive his attack.

"The Bakuryuuha...not enough?" Inuyasha said under his breath. "What do I have left?" He was preparing himself to make a last desperate stand against the creature, tearing it apart with his bare hands if that was what was required, when he was stopped in his tracks by the terrible cry of a cold, chilling voice.

"You...you...you _bastard_." It was Kagome; she was standing over the crumpled form of her father, her beautiful white kimono stained red with his blood. Tears flowed in rivers down her cheeks, and her voice shook as she sobbed, but the ebon fires in her eyes burned pure and deadly with indomitable rage, and she drew her bow with the grim, steady hand of heaven's own vengeance. "You _bastard_..._you_ killed my father!" she cried. The arrow's point glowed with a blinding violet-white flame, searing the very air. Her voice racked with anguish and grief, Kagome shrieked hoarsely, "DIE!" and loosed the arrow.

The arrow rent the air, flying straight to the center of the kongouseki protruding from the creature; the tentacles with which the monster vainly tried to block the arrow were instantly vaporized in the arrow's searing aura. The arrow struck deep into the center of the crystalline cluster, and the arrow's power spread outwards, refracted and magnified by the diamond spears. In a flash, the Bakuryuuha ignited, its raging whirwind instantly transforming into a firestorm of incandescent plasma. The deafening howl of the Bakuryuuha's redoubled fury drowned out the creature's shrieks of pain; and with an explosion that shook the temple to its foundations, the hideous beast shattered into a shower of sparks, which twinkled and faded as they floated slowly down to the temple floor.

The creature was utterly destroyed; and for a moment, nothing remained but roaring silence, and the dim moonlight shining through the holes in the roof of the ancient temple.

The stillness was broken by Papa's cough. Kagome knelt to support him, and Inuyasha rushed to his side. Izayoi released her barrier, collapsing to her knees with exhaustion, and Mama ran to join them as they knelt next to Papa.

"Well," Papa wheezed with some difficulty, "Grandpa will _never_ be able to beat _this_ story. He's going to be _so_ jealous." He smiled and laughed gently, but it turned quickly to coughing.

Kagome carefully propped him up to ease his breathing. "Don't worry," she said reassuringly. "Help will be here soon. You'll be just fine...won't he, Inuyasha?" She looked hopefully up at Inuyasha, but his face was ashen and grim. He shook his head gently, very gently…and he looked down, unable to meet the horror in Kagome's eyes.

Papa reached up and took Kagome's hand. "Thank you," he said, "thank you for saving my wife and my daughter."

"Hush now," Kagome said soothingly. "Don't try to talk." With the sleeve of her kimono, she tenderly wiped his face clean of the grime of the battle, and she lightly smoothed his ruffled hair.

Papa's hand gently touched Kagome's cheek. "Kagome..." he said softly. "You are..._my_ Kagome...aren't you?"

Tears welled up in Kagome's eyes, and she pressed his hand against her cheek. "Oh yes, Papa...yes, I am. Oh, Papa, I missed you so much!" She kissed his hand, and fell forward onto him, holding him as tightly as she dared, rocking him and sobbing.

"There, there, my girl. Don't cry." Papa stroked her hair as he spoke. "I'm so proud of you. You've done so well...and is that my granddaughter?" He looked towards Izayoi, still at the side of the unconscious child Kagome, still holding her friend's little hand; her dark eyes looked back at him, very large and very sad.

"Yes, Papa. That's my precious Izayoi." Kagome whispered through her tears, and wiped her eyes on her kimono. "I'm so glad that she could meet you," she said, smiling at her daughter.

"She's beautiful, sweetheart. She's brave like her mother and strong like her father. I'm so...so happy." Papa reached his hand towards Inuyasha, and Inuyasha took it in his. "Your sword is amazing...but the hand that holds it, and the heart that guides it, are more amazing still." Then Papa laid Kagome's hand in Inuyasha's. "Take care of my Kagome," he told Inuyasha.

For a moment Inuyasha couldn't speak; then he found his voice, and it was strong and clear. "I always have," he said, looking directly into Papa's eyes, "and I always will."

"I know you will," Papa said. "I'm proud of you too...son." Inuyasha blinked hard, then looked down. "Where's my wife?" Papa asked, looking weakly around for her.

"Right here, beloved." Mama knelt down next to Papa, and Inuyasha and Kagome withdrew respectfully to join Izayoi, who jumped up, hugged her mother very hard, and buried her face in her mother's kimono.

"I'm sorry...that I couldn't say goodbye to Souta...please tell him that I love him," said Papa, now breathing with some difficulty.

"Hush, love, you'll tell him yourself," Mama said gently, stroking his face.

Papa took her hands in his. "I'm afraid there won't be time for that...Oh, don't cry, my love," he said tenderly, "Look at our beautiful daughter, our brave son, and our darling granddaughter. You've done a wonderful job with them, my love. See? You didn't even need me." He chuckled briefly, then caressed her face. "My dear, my beloved...We shall not be parted for long, I promise you. If there is any way, I will find it...and we will be together, forever." He coughed again, then looked up at Mama. "Now kiss me goodnight, and let the last thing I see in this world be your sweet face."

Mama leaned down and kissed him lovingly. For a moment, she turned her face away; but when she turned back to look at Papa, there were tears on her cheeks but none in her eyes, and a beautiful smile lit her face. She stroked Papa's hair, and started humming a little tune. Kagome recognized it immediately as the lullaby that her father used to sing to her when she was little. She grabbed Inuyasha's kimono and buried her face in his chest to muffle her sobs, so that the sound of her weeping would not sully her father's last moments with Mama.

A wonderful smile grew on Papa's face, and he closed his eyes; and as he rested his head on Mama's lap, his face shone with utter peace and contentment. Mama kept humming and stroking Papa's hair until the sound of his labored breathing slowed and finally stilled. And when she saw that he was gone, her sweet song became a mournful low keening, and she held her husband's body tightly and wept bitterly; and Kagome and Izayoi knelt beside her, and their tears flowed together with hers.

And for a time, the ancient temple echoed only with lamentations: the cries of hearts rent with unbearable sadness, and the choked, racking sobs of inconsolable grief.


	5. Mama

**Flowers for My Daughter**

Mama

* * *

They said their farewells outside the temple, in the courtyard. "I will never be able to thank you enough for saving me and my daughter," Mama said as she held her still unconscious child in her arms. 

"It was Papa...it was Papa who saved us all," Kagome replied sadly. "But Mama, I don't remember any of this. I remember meeting a little girl with long white hair, long ago, but that's all—I don't remember where, or when, or how. All I remember about tonight is that I woke up in the hospital with my arm in a cast, and you told me that Papa had died in an accident at the temple. Why didn't you ever tell me what happened?"

"Tell you what happened? Just exactly what am I supposed to tell you? I mean, her? I mean, you? I mean...well, I don't really know what I mean," Mama said testily. "Tell the nine-year-old you that a future you came here, along with a half-demon that you had met in the feudal era and the child that you had by him, and that your father had used a magical sword to defeat a demon that had threatened to kill you before you could grow up and go back to the feudal era to meet your future lover and kill its master, five hundred years before you were born?" She laughed darkly. "I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen it, I'm quite sure that don't understand it, and I am absolutely _certain_ that couldn't explain it to a nine-year-old."

"I see what you mean," said Kagome, more than a little chagrined. "But the temple...we've destroyed the temple."

"Oh, that old thing." Mama laughed again, but more light-heartedly. "I can't tell you how many times it has burned down over the centuries. It's nothing but trouble. We needed to repair the roof anyway, Grandpa's jars of pickled demon parts are always overheating and starting fires, and your father and I have been fighting for years to keep the equipment in the basement from exploding on its own. Believe me...this was a blessing. Now, at least, we can get the insurance to pay for it." Despite herself, Kagome actually laughed along with her mother.

Izayoi's ears twitched. "Sirens, Mommy. I hear sirens."

Mama kissed each of them hurriedly. "You'd better go before the authorities get here. This mess," she nodded towards the temple, "I'm sure I can explain, but I don't know what they'll say if they see the three of you."

"What about Papa's...what about Papa?" Kagome asked quietly.

"I'll see to what's necessary," Mama replied calmly. "I need to do it myself...to help say goodbye." Cheery again, she said "Now get going. Even I can hear the sirens now, and they'll be here any second."

Kagome kissed her mother quickly, and they headed across the courtyard to the well-house. Kagome kept looking over her shoulder at her mother; and when Mama saw her, she waved merrily back to Kagome, and called to her, "Don't worry about me! Besides, you'll see me again soon..." and she nodded at the unconscious child in her arms, "just as soon as you wake up!"

Inuyasha, Kagome, and Izayoi entered the well-house, and climbed up onto the lip of the well. Kagome looked out the door one last time, and saw her mother, standing alone in the moonlit courtyard. Mama looked with sadness at the ruined temple, but when she looked down at her daughter in her arms, her face warmed with sweet sorrow and joy, and she tenderly kissed the sleeping child's brow.

Kagome grabbed Izayoi with one arm, and Inuyasha with the other, and hugged them both very tightly. "Let's go home," she said with a choked whisper. Inuyasha's strong arms wrapped around her and their daughter, and they stepped into the well.

The three of them held each other tightly as they were buffeted about in the stream of time. The ride was rough, but they were numbed by sadness and loss, and they paid the bumps no notice. Presently, they arrived at their destination: the bottom of the well, inside the temple well-house.

Inuyasha and Izayoi both sniffed the air. "Smells right...sounds right..." Inuyasha said, and Izayoi nodded in agreement. Inuyasha climbed up the ladder cautiously, popped his head out the top of the well, and motioned for the others to join him.

Standing at the door, he looked at Kagome and Izayoi, then said, "Well...here goes." He slid the door open, and they all looked outside. When they had left the past, it had been the middle of the night, but now, it was late afternoon, and the gray flagstones glowed red in the waning sun. Everything looked exactly as it was supposed to: a quiet day, just like any other, at the Higurashi temple. Across the courtyard in front of the family home, Mama was sweeping the front steps, humming contentedly to herself. Her clothes were right, and her hairstyle was right; they were, at last, home.

Kagome, Izayoi, and Inuyasha wearily made their way across the courtyard to the house. Mama saw them approaching, and waved merrily. "Iza-chan! Inu-chan! Kagome-chan! Welcome home!" Mama saw immediately that something was wrong. Normally, Izayoi ran full-tilt across the courtyard to greet her, nearly knocking her over and smothering her with a big hug. But today, Izayoi tottered along at Kagome's side, her eyes downcast. Mama had seen them come home exhausted from their adventures before, but today they looked worse than ever: Inuyasha's and Izayoi's long white hair was sooty and gray, and Inuyasha's kimono was covered with dirt and debris. Kagome's face was wet from her tears, and her kimono was as filthy as Inuyasha's; but across her chest, there was also an ugly stain of dried blood.

"Good heavens, Kagome-chan," Mama asked worriedly, "what happened?"

Kagome began weeping anew. "Mama...we just...we just saw Papa..." and she fell into her mother's arms, crying bitterly. Izayoi began crying too, and she hugged Inuyasha very tightly and buried her face in his kimono. And even Inuyasha, who always did his best to maintain a stern face, was blinking back the tears, and his lower lip was clearly quivering as he tried vainly to comfort his daughter.

* * *

Mama quickly bundled the three of them into the house, made them take off their stained clothing, and saw that everyone had a good scrub and a good soak (and, in Kagome and Izayoi's case, they also had a good cry as they sat together in the tub), and she wrapped them all in warm, soft robes.

Once they were washed clean of the dirt and sorrow of the previous day, Mama sat them down at the dinner table, and rather than hot tea, she brought out hot sake. Even Inuyasha, who loathed the taste of alcohol, asked for a cup. ("Man, I hate this stuff," he muttered as he pounded back a shot, then reached for the bottle and poured himself another.) Inuyasha and Kagome sat together on one side of the table, and Mama, cradling the sleeping Izayoi in her arms, sat on the other.

"I was wondering when it would happen," Mama said musingly. "Oh, of course, it already happened, but...oh, you know what I mean. I've _never_ been able to really understand this. But once Izayoi turned nine, I knew it would be soon--that was her age when...well, when we first met."

"But Mama, why didn't you ever tell me? After all these years?" Kagome asked.

"Sometimes, it's best to let things happen as they were meant to happen," Mama said thoughtfully, sipping at her sake. "Your father and I were meant to happen, and that meant that you and Souta were meant to happen. The same way, you and Inuyasha were meant to happen, and Iza-chan was meant to happen; and, sadly, your poor father's death was also meant to happen. I didn't want to do anything that might put any of that at risk."

"But besides," Mama laughed, "it was because of that night that I let you go back to the feudal era in the first place. I mean, what kind of mother would I be, letting my fifteen-year-old daughter all but quit school and disappear for weeks at a time? Most girls that age only talk about music and clothes, but all you ever asked for was first-aid supplies—how do you think _that_ makes a mother feel?" Both Kagome and Mama started giggling, and even Inuyasha left his reverie long enough to laugh with them. "The only boy you ever brought home seemed nice enough, but he had no manners at all, and clearly had no upbringing. Whenever he stayed the night, he always stayed with you, _in your room, just the two of you_, and I never asked once what you were doing in there." Mama looked half jokingly, half reprovingly at Kagome. "And whenever you _didn't_ come home with him, you would come home in tears, wondering whether he loved you as much as you loved him, because he was involved with another woman who, if I get it right, was...dead?" Kagome and Inuyasha were both blushing fiercely at Mama's description of their rocky past, but even they had to laugh at that. "But I never worried for a second about either of you, no matter what life threw at you...because I had seen you fight for me, for each other, and for her." She looked lovingly down at Izayoi in her arms, and stroked her soft white hair. "And I knew that no matter what happened, you would live long enough to see that moment...that horrible, beautiful moment."

Again, a silence fell between them. Kagome refilled everyone's cup, and they all sipped their sake pensively, lost in their memories. Kagome was first to break the silence. "Er, Inuyasha," she began, "How was Papa able to hurt that thing, when none of us could?" The kaze no kizu, my arrows, nothing could touch it...and yet Papa could."

"That old weapon...it really _was_ a demon slayer. It wasn't like those toys your Grandpa plays with...it had real power." said Inuyasha without looking up, absentmindedly fiddling with his cup. "Plus, it never saw him coming. He was just a human—he was something that a youkai like that wouldn't even notice. It never expected him to attack like that, so it wasn't paying attention...and that gave us the break we needed." He stared at his cup for a moment. "Your dad and mine...they both..." his voice trailed off, and he grabbed his cup and drained it.

"But your sword, Inuyasha," Kagome asked. "How could he use your sword?"

Inuyasha set down his cup, and looked Kagome squarely in the eye. "Tessaiga and I are one," he said simply; then, unwilling to say more, he crossed his arms and stared absently at the table.

"Don't be sad, Inuyasha," Mama said gently. "Without you, my daughter, my husband, and I, all three of us would have been killed by that...that _thing_. You and your sword saved us all—in more ways than you know. Come take your daughter for a moment, and I'll show you." Inuyasha gently took his sleeping daughter from Mama. Izayoi stirred slightly, then drew a fold of Inuyasha's robe to her cheek and settled back to sleep.

Mama walked over to the family's shrine, and removed a small wooden box from a drawer. She returned to the table, opened the lid, and poured the contents out: a glitter of sparkling crystals, tinkling musically.

"Kongouseki!" Kagome said in an amazed whisper.

"So that's what they're called. I always wondered," said Mama. "The insurance paid for the temple, of course, but your father's company plan didn't go very far, and I was starting to get worried. I had two growing children and your grandfather to care for, and I wasn't going to make it much longer without some help. Then, it dawned on me." She picked up a crystal and regarded it thoughtfully. "I had collected all of these after...well, afterwards. It took quite a while—I can't begin to tell you how many of these there were, scattered all over the temple. I was finally able to sell some of these to a collector. It took some doing, but he paid a _very_ good price—far more than he had originally intended." She chuckled, remembering her skills at negotiation. "Because of that, we were able to live comfortably, and all my children's needs were met. And, if you watch your spending wisely, neither you nor Souta will ever need to worry about money, either." Mama nodded at little Izayoi. "There's even something for her, if she wants it—and by the time she's old enough, it should be quite a tidy sum."

Mama laughed again. "How do you think we paid for the guest room that we built for you two, so that Iza-chan could have Kagome's old room to herself? And how do you think we were always able to repair the holes that would get blown in something" (here she looked pointedly at Inuyasha) "or the Inu-chan-shaped holes that would get dug into the flagstones?" She looked meaningfully at Kagome, who giggled nervously.

Mama gathered the kongouseki and replaced them in their box, and returned the box to its place in the shrine. "But your sword protects us in more ways than that, Inu-chan," Mama continued. "I couldn't bear to sell _all_ those lovely little diamonds. I buried most of them around the perimeter of the temple grounds. Some of the larger ones I buried under the temple, and others are in various places around the grounds. The largest ones are under the floor of each of our bedrooms."

Mama looked at each of them in turn, as she said gravely but warmly, "And since the day I placed the last stone...the fortunes of the Higurashi temple changed. Grandpa's silly little charms didn't change, of course...they're still not worth the paper they're printed on...but the very air of this place became different, more peaceful...more blessed. Nothing dark or evil dares cross the boundary that your kongouseki have created. Even our night's rest is more renewing, more refreshing, than it was before."

"And so, Inuyasha...Kagome," Mama said, with her hands on theirs, "even though I miss your father terribly, and I know you do too, I want you to know that he was very, very proud of you...and that despite the tragedy that happened on that horrible night, it brought great blessings to this family, to me, and to you."

Mama turned away, brushing a tear from her eyes, but in a moment she was her old chipper self again. "So, I think it's time for the little one to go to bed, and from the day I know you two have had, I think it's time for you to do the same. But right now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to spend a few minutes at the Goshinboku... talking with your father."

"I'm coming too," said Kagome, pushing her chair back and rising. "Inuyasha, why don't you put Iza-chan to bed? I'll be back in a few minutes." And so saying, she and her mother grabbed their coats and headed outside.

Inuyasha carried Izayoi up the stairs to her room—Kagome's old room—and laid his daughter gently on the bed, and tucked her under the warm covers. He looked out the window onto the temple grounds, and saw Kagome and Mama, their arms around each other, looking at the Goshinboku. Kagome's mother had told him years ago that she had buried Papa's ashes at the foot of the tree, and although he had never felt anything there himself, both Mama and Kagome said they could feel Papa's presence when they stood in the shadow of the great tree.

He was lost in thought when he heard Izayoi's sweet little voice. "Daddy?"

He looked down to find her wide awake, her dark eyes looking deeply into his. He sat on the bed, and patted her lovingly. "Yeah?"

"Daddy, was that really my Grandpa who died last night?"

"Yeah...yeah, it was."

"Oh. I thought so." Izayoi fell silent for a moment, then continued. "Is Mommy sad that her daddy died?"

"Yeah, she is...but she has you, and that makes her feel better."

"Did your daddy die just like Grandpa died?"

Inuyasha replied grimly, "Yeah...yeah, he did. A very long time ago."

"Daddy, are you going to die like that too?"

Inuyasha was taken aback, but not for long. He held up his fist triumphantly and said proudly, "Naah. I'm too tough for that. I've faced a lot worse than that loser," and he clenched his fist hard enough to make his knuckles crack, "And the end was always the same!"

"That's good, Daddy." Izayoi thought for a moment, then asked, "Is little Kagome sad too?"

"Yeah, I'm sure she is."

"When will I see her again?"

Inuyasha's eyebrow twitched nervously. "Well...I don't know. That's kind of... complicated."

"If little Kagome's daddy was the same as Mommy's daddy, does that mean they're sisters?"

Inuyasha felt his heart skip a beat, and his eyebrow twitched uncontrollably. "Well...why don't you ask your mother about that?"

"O-kay. Good night, Daddy," she said, and shut her eyes and curled up in the comforter.

Inuyasha sat with her for a few minutes, stroking her hair, until Kagome came back into the house and joined him in the bedroom.

"How's she doing?" whispered Kagome.

"Just fine. She asked whether little Kagome's daddy was the same as your daddy, and whether you were sisters. I told her to ask you."

"Honestly, Inuyasha," Kagome sighed dejectedly, "How you can face down Naraku but can't answer your own daughter's questions, I will _never_ understand. 'If I have Daddy's hair and ears, why don't I have the other things he has?'" she imitated Izayoi's innocent little voice. "'He says girls don't need them—so what does _he_ need them for?'" She sighed again. "Now I have to explain to her how _she's_ the little white-haired girl who taught _me_ how to press flowers in books, and how I taught myself how to make omelets, and...well, at least I don't have to do it right now. Maybe by tomorrow morning I'll come up with something..." She scratched Inuyasha fondly behind the ears. "I always do." Inuyasha rose, and silently he and Kagome left Izayoi's room, shutting off the light and going downstairs to their own room.

When Izayoi heard the door to her parents' room shut, she threw off the comforter, walked to the window, and pressed her forehead and palms to the glass.

"I'm sorry you died, Grandpa," she whispered to the Goshinboku, "but I'm glad I met you."

Through the window, Izayoi saw the banners and trees that ringed the courtyard standing motionless in the still night air; but the leaves of the Goshinboku began to rustle, as though in a gentle breeze. And though it was autumn, and the air outside was cold and brisk, Izayoi felt a warm, sweet wind wafting through her room, rustling her hair and caressing her cheeks. A warm golden light suffused the room, and she felt herself lifted by strong, gentle hands, which bore her to her bed and set her tenderly upon it. She felt as though she were floating in a sea of light and love, and as she drifted into sleep, she thought she caught the faraway scent of springtime blossoms.

In the morning, Kagome arrived as usual in Izayoi's room to wake her and get her ready for school. Izayoi was not a "morning person," and the morning ritual was usually more difficult than either mother or daughter liked. But this morning, Izayoi awoke with bright eyes and a warm smile.

"Well, Iza-chan, you're energetic today!" Kagome said cherrily as she sat beside her daughter on the bed. "To what do we owe this change of heart?"

Izayoi smiled. "Grandpa loves me," she said, her face bright with joy, "and he loves you too." She suddenly embraced her mother, and kissed her cheek. "And so do I." Izayoi jumped out of bed and skipped down the hall to the bathroom.

"Well," Kagome thought, "I don't know what brought that on, but I'm glad that something did." She began making the bed, but as she adjusted the covers, she thought heard the sound of something other than cloth against cloth, and she caught a strangely familiar scent.

Intrigued, she pulled back the bedclothes, and found that Izayoi had been sleeping on a bed of flowers. She looked at them, puzzled, then gasped as she recognized what they were. Each petal was rare, and precious, and perfect, and once you had seen them, you could never forget them, or the tree from whence they came.

They were the flowers of the Goshinboku; and each one bore the scent that Kagome had known from the earliest days of her childhood: the sweet and gentle scent of her father.


End file.
